Ultrasound Condition Monitoring In Mechanical Industry

Ultrasound Condition Monitoring

Performance of the different entities in the mechanical industry can be summarized in form of their monitoring. According to Rienstra and Hall¹, Condition monitoring, also known as the CM is a key process, which is used in monitoring of a particular parameters of the condition machinery such as vibration, temperature and others, in the aim to identify the significant changes which are able to result from a particular faults. The condition monitoring is key for the planning of the maintenance as well as other actions which the machinery need for their effective operation. In addition, the CM is used to ensure that failure is prevented in the operations and avoid failure consequences. Therefore, through the operations, the condition monitoring is able to influence the lifespan of the operations of the machinery by influencing the fault before it happens on the parts. In terms of the applications, CM is applied on rotating parts, and machinery such as pumps, electric motors, presses among other key parts of machinery, which are prone to faults. The industrial and transportation sectors are the key areas and industries, which have applied the CM widely in different forms. ‘NAM Advancing Nine-Point…²’ there are different techniques, which are applied in the CM. Therefore, BS ISO 13372³ indicates that in the different techniques which are used, the operations of the machines are predictable and therefore continuous operations are maintained through all these techniques. The need of the CM is able to arise from the element that in power plant, any unexpected faults may can arise and therefore leading to fatal accidents. The need to prevent these unexpected accidents in the operations and industries lead to the increased use of the CM techniques in the different industries. The condition monitoring is able to differ from other methods of preventive maintenance because it centers the maintenance on the actual condition of the machines instead of the preset schedules which the other methods base.

The use of the different techniques, which are available in condition monitoring, is able to depend on different issues. The choice of the technique is able to depend on the plant being analyzed, maintenance goals among other key requirements. In order to get the best results, combination of different techniques is usually enhanced. The increased chances of the breakdown of the machines and loss of output due to altered production are the main reasons for the increased use of the condition monitoring. Moreover, in ISO⁴ standards, the implementation of the condition monitoring has been highly enhanced through the use of the technology. Simon et al.⁵ notes that signal processing and artificial intelligence, AI, are some of the key technological advancements which has been used in the CM. these techniques have been used to enhance the implementation of the CM in the different industries. There are different CM techniques in the industry which range from vibration signature analysis, acoustic emission testing, ultrasound condition monitoring, infrared thermography and lubrication oil analysis. Nevertheless, this paper will have a detailed look on the ultrasound condition monitoring. It will analyze the different elements of this CM technique and its use in the industry. In addition, this paper will review the basics of ultrasound technology through the analysis of what is new in the technology. In addition, it will analyze the use of this technique in the condition monitoring in order to locate the safety hazards, reduction of energy waste and the improvement of the equipment available through control of breakdowns by proper location of faults.

Ultrasound Technology

As there are many CM methods, the ultrasound condition monitoring is new and has been able to influence the industry in different ways offering the many advantages it has over other methods. the definition of ultrasound is “sound waves having a frequency above the limits of human hearing, or in excess of 20,000 cycles per second.” The ultrasound condition monitoring is able to offer a “stand alone” inspection technology while offering most effective screening tool in the condition monitoring industry. The speed of performance is another key element which this technique is able to offer when being applied in the inspection process. The technique is able to help the inspectors to determine the effective follow up actions in the different sectors such as the electrical, mechanical and leak applications. Moreover, there are many physical elements which are able to cause sound, which is audible and at different ultrasound frequencies. There is need to have the correct analysis of these sounds considering their differences in the frequencies which they arrive at. Different methods have been applied but the correct methods have been longs for. Ultrasound condition monitoring has been able to help in coming up with the correct analysis of these sounds at different industries. The ultrasound condition monitoring is able to apply the use of both airborne, which is non-contact and structure borne ultrasound instruments. These instruments are able to receive the high frequency ultrasound emissions, which are produced by the operating machines, leaks, or even the electrical emissions among other sources. After receiving the ultrasound, the technique is able to help in the monitoring of the situation of the source and condition of the equipment under test according to Ebersbach  et  al ⁶.

The airborne or structure borne ultrasound instruments are able to receive the high frequency emissions from their sources such as leaks, electrical emissions and operating equipment. Abiot⁷  notes that the frequencies which these ultrasounds are emitted is able to range from 20 kHz to even 100 kHz and even more which are beyond human hearing. The technique has key elements which are able to translate the ultrasound frequencies through the heterodyning process to enhance their audibility whereby they can be heard through headphones and be observed as intensity. In addition, some of the instruments in this technique are able to contain on board sound recording which help to capture the sound samples for the spectral analysis. With the advancement of the technology, the technique has also enhanced the use of the digital instruments which has management software, where information is data logged and then downloaded for a computer analysis process. In the UCM, sound is received in two different forms which include the air and through the solid surface or structures. Some of the key airborne sounds such as the leaks and electrical emissions are in many cases received through scanning modules. On the other hand, structure borne ultrasounds, which include the generated bearings and leaks from valves arte sensed through a wave guide or contact module.

In the process of translating the ultrasound sound through heterodyning process, the UCM is able to enhance the maintenance of the sound quality due to the transition period. The signals in this techniques are observed at intensities and dB levels for analysis. Decker Harry⁸ adds that in the UCM, there are both active and passive analysis methods which are highly applied. The use of these techniques are able to depend on different factors including the required end results and the equipment which is being analyzed. As noted earlies, there are airborne and structure borne instruments in the UCM technique. The passive ultrasound is detected through the airborne instruments whereby the sound is produced through physical processes by the component which is being analyzed. In many cases, the passive ultrasound is used for the contact methods of monitoring which involve lubrication issues, gear damages, bearing faults and even cavitation in pumps. In addition, this method is also applied on the non-contact methods pf monitoring. Some of the key areas of applications in this area include the leaks, which are found on boilers, condensers and heat exchangers, in electrical discharges, and also corona which is found in high voltage equipment. Moreover, Airborne  ultrasound  detects  high  frequency  sound  produced  by  mechanical equipment,  electrical  discharges  and  most  leakages  which  is  extremely  short  wave  in  nature.

In addition, Alfayez⁹ notes that the short wave signals in many cases tend to be fairly directional and localized. This characteristics are able to make them to be very easy to separate from background plant noises. Moreover, this ability to detect is able to enhance their location detection and thus helping the detectors to help identify the faults exactly on the equipment and machines which are being analyzed. Additionally, on the other hand, the active ultrasound is an approach which is able to precisely guide the beam of ultrasound transmission to a physical structure in order to analyze both surface and subsurface discontinuities. Some of the key discontinuities in these are areas include delaminations, disbonds, cracks and porosity at early stages. In this case, the guided wave interaction with the structural discontinuity which causes reflection from a particular depth in material or scattering of guided waves in all directions, both results in transmission loss. These transmission losses can be detected by mapping the transmitted signal over the whole structure, known as a Through-transmission C-scan. From various characteristics of the received ultrasonic signal, such as the time of flight, amplitude, frequency content, etc., the information about the depth of the damage is assessed.

The airborne ultrasound is used in many mechanical operating equipment, electrical emissions such as arcing, tracking and corona and in many leakage identification problems. So far, the technology has been able to achieve success from different levels in this industry. Buckley¹⁰, add that the main question to make remains the way this UCM technique has been able to achieve this success in this industry regardless of the available challenges which many techniques are able to face. The shortwave natures of the produced ultrasound in these parts are some of the key characteristics, which have enhanced the proper use of this technique and the achievement of the results. This helps to achieve the precise locations of the origin of the sound and therefore enhancing the identification of the fault area. In turn, this helps the detectors to be able to spend less time while identifying the sources of these faults and therefor enhancing the amendment time. This helps to enhance the production of the different parts and enhancing the operations of the machines at any given moment. Moreover, subtle changes are able to begin appearing and occurring on the mechanical equipment. The subtle is directional in nature of the ultrasound. This allows to provide the potential warning signals of the fault areas and therefore enhance early detection of the actual failure. This means that caution can be taken as early as possible and enhance the prevention of the failure.

The main advantage of the ultrasound when used as part of the condition monitoring is able to enhance the asset availability and saving of energy. Bandes¹¹ add that one of the key advantage of this method is that the ultrasound emissions are directional. This means that the emissions can be followed and the direction of their origin can be easily identified. This helps the detectors to be able to know the areas, which they are originating, and helps them to find the fault areas by following the ultrasound emissions. Since the ultrasounds are able to follow a line during their operations, this helps them to come up with a proper line which will help the detectors to identify the areas of their origin. The directional nature is therefore key for the detectors to identify the origin of the ultrasound and therefore taking the shortest time to identify the faults.

Another key advantage of this method when used in CM is that the ultrasound tends to be highly localized. These sounds are localized in an area, which has the fault, and this means that the other surrounding areas will not be able to offer contradicting such sound. This helps the detectors to be able to precisely locate the fault areas since the other areas will not be able to come up with similar emissions. The locality nature means that the fault areas in the machines and other areas are the only origin of these emissions. This helps to come up with a directional identification of the areas which have the problems and therefore enhance the detection capability using this method. In addition, Rienstra¹² add that another key advantage of this method is that the ultrasound are able to provide early warnings of impeding mechanical failure. This factor ensures that the location for the fault areas can be done early enough before the failure is able to happen which may interfere with the mechanical operation of the equipment. The early warnings through the ultrasound are able to help the detectors to know that there are areas which have mechanical errors and therefore be able to devise a proper way to handle the faults. Unlike other methods, the warnings through the CM have been beneficial when this method is applied and therefore enhances the operations of the machines since the failure is prevented early. Through the use of technology, the mechanical failure is prevented which enhances the operation for the equipment and the key processes of production. Many of the CM techniques are able to lack this warning part of the mechanical failures and therefore corrections are only made when the failure has happened. The use of the UCM technique has been able to gain much praise and increased usage due to the impeding warning, which helps to prevent the failures at early stages, and therefore enhancing the production.

In addition, the areas and surrounding conditions have been able to affect many of the CM methods during their applications. The instruments of the condition monitoring are in many cases affected by the surrounding and this requires to have specific conditions in order to enhance their functionality. Nevertheless, Raišutis et al¹³ notes that the UCM instruments can be used in loud and noise environment. Since the mechanical and industrial areas are noisy, many of the CM techniques find themselves inapplicable in such areas. The UCM instruments are able to enhance the detection of the faults even under these conditions. Their operations are not interfered with these conditions and the ultrasounds are produced and able to identify the fault areas. The use of this techniques on such areas have been able to increase the application of the methods on different locations and therefore increased its popularity to identify the defects and fault areas in different sections. The diverse areas of applications of this method have been able to increase its applications due to the different areas of applications without limits. Many operational areas are able to produce noise which is able affect other techniques and therefore limiting their applications. This has been a key point for the increased application of this technique in the condition monitoring in the different areas.

According to Juan Rosales¹⁴, the condition monitoring methods are able to require the different use of different techniques in order to reach to perfect results. This means that the method use should be able to support other key methods when needed in order to enhance the effectiveness of the result production. Just in like other areas, the use of many technologies is able to lead to more accurate results and this is not different in condition monitoring. The UCM is able to support and enhance other PDM technologies when being applied. The enhancement of the coupling this method with other will enhance the result production for the different tasks. This is a key advantage which the UCM has been able to achieve in its application. The method can therefore be able to enhance the production of the key results, which are more accurate, and therefore improvement of any failures identifications in the systems. Other methods in CM are able to lack this ability and therefore deemed to be not much accurate when they produce their results. In addition, the CM method needs to be abler to stand on their own and be able to produce key results which can be relied on. The UCM is able to stand on its own in the maintenance program and able to produce key results which can be relied on. This is a key characteristic which have been able to increase the popularity of the usage of this method in different locations. The method has been able to prove it usability on different locations on its own and able to produce key result. The method has been effective even when used alone in the fault identification in different areas. This has been able to act as a major advantage for the method in the condition monitoring.

In addition, during the implementation the ultrasound condition monitoring has been used as the “first line of defense” to enhance different results. The method has been able to enhance fast inspect of the equipment. This has enhanced the use of the method in order to look for any defects during operations. Verma¹⁵ add that unlike other methods which may take longer to produce the results, the UCM is able come up with fast results when inspecting equipment even when they are under use. This is a key reason for its usage in many areas. In addition, the method has been used in order to screen out anomalies. There is a key need to check the conditions of the equipment for any irregularities before they are committed to their usage. This helps to prevent the failure once they are committed to their usage. The UCM has been a key method which has been able to enhance the production of such results and therefore able to offer confidence of the results and operations of the equipment. This helps to save time which can be wasted when the equipment have been found with irregularities when already in use. This method is able to produce quick results at this level and therefore enhancing its usage in the first point to check the condition of the equipment.  In addition, this method is used to set up alarm groups for detailed analysis and any further actions, which is required. The method helps to identify the different locations, which need such actions and analysis for further failure, which is needed. The groups of alarms are able to set up the different locations, which need to be looked at and therefore enhance the operation of the machines. This helps to come up with a key location that will be able to identify the action locations and enhance the operations of the different areas.

The use of the ultrasound condition monitoring is key to save time and help minimize the costs which are experienced in firms in the different sections. First, the listening of the ultrasound is done in the part, which needs repair. According to Chappa et al¹⁶ description, the monitoring process is a continuous process, which is able to happen, and the changes in the procedure of the ultrasound are able to dictate that the part is faulty. The deviations on the derived readings of the ultrasound are key indicators that the part is changing its mechanical functionality. The analysis of the data is able to happen after the derivation of the ultrasound readings and this is able to dictate the urgency of action, which is required on the respective parts. In order to be able to understand the functionality of the UCM, it is key to understand the developments, which the technology has gone through since its invention. Mostly, this area will be able to look at the changes and developments which the ultrasound condition monitoring has gone through in the past three decades.

The description according to Vincent et al¹⁷. notes that the ultrasound condition monitoring has been able to develop over the past decades at different stages. For the UCM, the first instruments, which were used where analog. These early versions of UCM were able to receive raw ultrasound signals and then through the electronic means of the heterodyning be able to convert them into the available audible ranges where the users can hear these sounds through headphones. In addition, in some instruments, the use of intensity level meters was enhanced in order to give the user the sound amplitude indicator. This helped them to identify and differentiate the different types of the sounds which were produced in the process of the analysis of the different equipment and situations. In addition, with progress, the frequency of the tuning was initiated. This helped the users to be able to change the frequency of the sounds when they were confronted with different test environments. The change of the frequency was able to ensure that the users are able to receive the required signal clearly and thus able to make the viable conclusion during the analysis process of the ultrasound. At this era, all these instruments being used were “search and locate” because they were used to identify an issue. In these instruments, the data was manually enters on a chart of sheet. The automation of the data entry had not been achieved and the use of the charts and the sheets was utilized in the era to enhance the operation and location of the different faults at locations. In their applications, these instruments were used in the location of the leaks such as in compressed gases and steam systems and also checking of the arcing, tracking and corona in substations and along key distribution lines.

Industries have undergone technological transformation and so has the ultrasound instrumentation. From the documentation of Mazioud et al.¹⁸, trending, reporting to the analysis of the ultrasound equipment conditions has seen changes in the improvement of the inspection capabilities and energy conservation programs. All these measures have all been developed to enhance reduction of the failure rates and improvement on the reduction of energy loss in different areas.

The changes in the instrumentation in UCM are substantial. From the analog instrument the current instruments are digital. Decibels have been able to allow users to increase reliability for the analysis of the end results which the user have on the process. In addition, handling of the data has been able to change a lot. In addition, Su¹⁹, notes that the data is now logged on-board the instruments and then downloaded into the data management software. This enhances the handling of the data and ensures it is safe until the analysis is made. In addition, change has as well happened in the analysis part. The review of the test result, comparison of the current data with baseline data and trend changes is usually done electronically. Lastly, the report production for the analyzed data is usually done electronically suing the advanced instrumentation in the UCM technology.

Anand Prabhakaran²⁰ adds that specialized module development is another key change which has happened on the UCM over the years. New modules have been developed to meet the different specific needs since one receiving module is never effective in all test environment. Moreover, the parabolic module is able to double the detection distance of the standard scanning modules, this is able to increase the safety of the identification of the electrical emissions in the transmission lines, and this means that the inspectors cannot place themselves in danger by getting too close to the lines.

When monitoring is required in an equipment, remote sensors are mounted on the test points. Moreover, some sensors have cables that area able to run out to the accessible areas when an inspector is using a portable instrument that can attach a cable end to the sensing module and the log the data. In addition, since most of the remote sensors are able to monitor the bearing wear, the increase in awareness of the arc flash prevention has raised for the need of some sensors to be placed and enclosed in electric cabinets in order to alarm when arcing, tracking and corona are present.

The ultrasound condition monitoring has been widely used in different areas in different sectors. The efficiency of the result production and accuracy are some of the key advantages which has led to the wide usage of this technology. This section will be able to look at the different areas which have been able to apply this technology in order to solve the different problems which the sections are able to experience. In addition, the analysis will also look at the extend at which this method is able to solve the available problem in the section and its effectiveness. The defects, which are found in the application of the UCM, are able to produce friction which impacts or the turbulence. Bandes²¹ notes that some of the applications are able to combine the both of these characteristics. The inspections of these applications are able to enhance high application of the ultrasonic and the ultrasound in their use. There are three major areas of applications which are able to found to apply the UM technique. In the different sections, the UCM is able to apply the usage and control of different problems in the industry. The three areas of application include the leakage detection, electric emissions and mechanical inspections. This section will be able to analyze the way UCM is used to solve the different challenges which are found on these sections. The ultrasound waves are produced at different locations and this enhances the detection of the areas which have defects and therefore enhancing the inspectors to analyze the differences. In many cases, the ultrasound differences are used to identify the criticality of the situation when a defect occurs.

One of the key problem, which is facing the flowing fluids, is leakages on the transportation medium. Leakage detection is able to cover a wide area of the plant operation in any industry. The amendments of the leaks is known to be able to keep the systems running effectively. Therefore, leakages can be identified to be key factors which are able to influence the operations of any system and plants. The leakage detection can be done for different purposes. Some of the purposes do the leakage detection as part of their environmental conservations while other firms undertake them for the safety reasons while others carry them in order to conserve energy. In either way, the best mechanism to carry to the leak detection is required and the UCM is one of the method, which many firms are able to apply for the leak detection. Shimomura et al²², add that the use of the ultrasound is common for the leak detection because they are not limited on the type of leaks, which they can be able to detect. There are different areas where the leakage can happen and therefore the key method which h is applied need to be able to adopt to any area ranging from liquid and gas systems, pressurized and vacuumed systems, which may have internal leakages to systems, which have external leakages such as exposed pipping. In addition, at situation, there may be no pressure or even vacuum and at these moments, ultrasonic tone test is created in order to be able to solve the leakage problem and identification. In the ultrasonic tone test, the ultrasonic transmitter is located on one side of the test item in order to flood the area with ultrasound. Through the scanning on the other hand for the sonic penetrations, the leak can therefore be identified. This example is mostly used in the transportation industry in order to be able to locate the wind noise and water leaks, which might be found around the windshields.

In many cases, it is not easy to physically locate the areas which have these defects since some of the pipping systems are buried are at far locations and within the fluids. The leakages can easily form at any location within the plants and without proper analysis; one will be able to locate them when they are happening. When a fluid or gas is able to leak, it moves with high pressure in the side of leak and through the leak site to the low pressure area where it is able to expand at high speed and therefore producing turbulent flow. The turbulent flow has strong ultrasonic components which result to the ultrasound. A cording to Lu²³, when the leak happens, the intensity of the ultrasonic signal is able to fall rapidly from the source. Through the fall of the ultrasonic signal, the leakage area can be identified perfectly and accurately. In addition, compressor valves are much noisy and able to create a lot of vibrations. This has been able to limit the applications of many CM methods in the identification of the leakages on these areas. The UCM is able to isolate the sound with it taking the advantage of the shortwave nature of the ultrasound and therefore making it possible to listen and view the sound of the noisy valves. The detection is also able to apply the pressure leaks, negative pressure leaks, valve leaks and steam traps to identify the correct location of these leakage spots. These instruments in UCM are able to apply the difference in the ultrasound to identify the concern and therefore able to help the detectors analyze the issues. This is because when leakage occurs, the turbulent is able to flow and thus producing sound pressure waves on the spectrum from 0 hertz to even 100 hertz and beyond. Lu²³ adds that in the analysis, the lower frequency sounds are able to travel longer distances and therefore interfering with the ambient noise such as that of running machinery. In addition, another factor, which helps in the identification of the leak, is the high energy which these sounds have, which is likely to reflect off the surfaces and therefore minimizing the low frequency microphone therefore enhancing the accuracy of their location.

Pressurized systems and systems under vacuum are easily prone of the leakages. Escaler et al²⁴., adds that leakages can occur in the internal areas through valves, in steam traps, heat exchanges and condenser tubes. In this case, it is key to be able to accurately locate the area of leakage and ensure that protective measure is taken early to ensure that the leakage does not happen, which when it happen it cause accidents and loos of properties and therefore hinder the production at the end. The establishment of a compression air leakage management is one of the key areas which has proven to be key in securing the returns in many companies and industries. It is estimated that in US, about 30 percent of the compressed air is lost to leakages. The lack of proper management and survey systems to identify the areas of the leakages is blamed for all the losses, which are attributed to the lost gases. In terms of the financial analysis, it is estimated that a leak as small as 1/16” (.16 cm) is able to cost about $846.00 annually. If this leakage is doubles, the amount of loss, which the industry is able to experience, is massive and can be estimated to be $3, 389.00 in a year. If a single plant has about 10 leaks or even 50 leaks, the amount of loss is massive. This raises the need to have a proper technology which is able to detect these areas which are likely to experience the leakage s and therefore be repaired in advance. This is able to save the financial aspect for the industry.

In addition, another key factor, which is costly for the firms, is the steam leakages. The leaks through the steams are able to lead to energy cost losses. Moreover, Shen²⁵ indicates that the steam leaks not only result to the wastage of energy but also able to cause water hammer, which can result to the damaging of the steam system components and therefore able to increase the operational costs in a firm. Through estimation, one steam trap can leak up to 43 tons of steam per year. Through the analysis, steam leak and steam trap if solved can lead to substantial savings. Through the process, one example of a chemical firm was able to report a savings of up to $100,000,000 in their plants through the steam trap mechanisms. The use of the UCM is a key procedure, which is likely to be able to affect the solving of this problem and enhance the saving of the costs in firms. The ultrasounds are detected from the affected areas and therefore able to enhance quicker solving of the problems. The escalation of the costs is able to lead to the effects on economy through the job creations. Many firms reduce their jobs, which they have, and this affect the industry as a whole. According to survey, it is found that the energy sector is able to loss about 100,000 jobs in the chemical industry due to the leakages.

The UCM is a key technology which has been able to move into the industry and helped in the identification of these leakages. The technology has been able to come up with the accurate data ion the areas, which are likely to experience the leakages, and offered the warnings foe the repairs. In addition, the analyses of the systems before they are installed for the leakages are able to happen through this technique as according to Shen²⁵. This has helped the industries from experiencing the losses due to the leakages and therefore enhanced their operations in terms of financial feasibilities. The use of the UCM has gained a lot of support in the prevention of the leakages on different areas. The accurate location of the fault areas has been key advantage of this technology in this section of solving the problem. This technology has been able to perform well and above per in the solving of the leakage problem.

The electric sector is another area which the ultrasound condition monitoring has been successfully employed. Fan  et al²⁶, adds that the inspection through the use of ultrasound technology has been highly used in this sector. The use of the UCM has been used in all voltages including high, medium and low in order to detect arcing, tracking and corona. This has been done on all the systems whether they are closed or open access equipment. In the operation, the arcing, tracking and corona are able to ionize the air molecules, which are around them and therefore producing the ultrasound. These ultrasounds are therefore able to move to the detection equipment, which is able to enhance the passing of the sound of the area, which the arcing, tracking and corona are for further inspection. Since these areas are the ones, which ionize the air leading to the production of the ultrasound, the identification of the areas, are more accurate and helps the detectors to be able to locate the location accurately during the inspections. The use of infrared has been key in the location of the electrical problems. Nevertheless, there are key sounds which can go undetected when the infrared thermography is used alone. This means that several areas can be unsolved through the use of a single method and therefore an increased need use of the UCM. Through the UCM, sound samples are recorded for the analysis and the spectral can be viewed through the available reports. The combination of the infrared is usually combined with UCM and this helps to increase the efficiency of operations. According to Fan et al,²⁶ all the inspectors are able to enhance the use of these two methods whole inspecting other areas such as the switchgear. A look at an example where an inspector uses the two method to analyze and inspect a switchgear is made to show the effectiveness of the methods. During the analysis, some of the doors could not open. In the system, there were no IR ports on the closed cabinets and therefore it was hard to do the testing of the switchgear with infrared. When the inspector scanned the door seams and the air vents with ultrasound instrument, he was able to note and hear distinctive arcing sound. He recorded the sound and after opening the cabinets he was able to derive the visual and infrared images and they were represented as below.

An image from infrared scan showing that the failure condition could have resulted from flashover and shows that the failure is likely to happen any soon.

Moreover, Radcliff²⁷ notes that with the advancement of the use of the digital sound recording and the spectral analysis, the inspectors are able to accurately and precisely analyze the sound and be able to determine the different aspects of the source of the sound. Some of the key information, which they can be able to derive from the ultrasound, includes the type of the emission and the severity of the electric emissions where the sound originates. This helps them to be able to plan for any repair and the urgency, which is needed for the same. In this section, the UCM has been able to perform well for the inspectors. It has been able to aid in the prevention of accidents, which involve the electric emissions and therefore preventing dangers, and accidents. Through the analysis, it can therefore be concluded that the method has been able to perform well in this application in solving the problems of the emissions.

Another key are where the ultrasound condition monitoring has been employed is in the mechanical inspections. The reporting of changes, detecting of defaults, tending and analyzing the different mechanical sections are the major areas where the UCM has been used in this section. The advancement of the ultrasound CM from analog to the digital era has been able to create many prospects in the above sections in the mechanical sections. In all these aspects, the UC has been employed to ensure that the improvement of the asset availability is achieved. In the mechanical section, the data can be stored, uploaded and even downloaded into different data management software. According to Radcliff²⁷ these key software are used to produce the trend charts, then generate the report of the selected criteria. This helps in the analysis procedure for the different aspects using the UCM technology in the mechanical sector. The mechanical equipment are in many cases able to produce normal sound signature while under operation. When these equipment are on the verge of failure, they are able to change in the original sonic signature is able to occur. The shift in the intensity which is able to happen on the display panel of the qualitative sound change that can be heard through the headphones can be noted and therefore be able to prompt for further analysis. Moreover, the use of the ultrasonic translator can be enhanced whereby it can be connected to the vibration enhancer. In addition, the sound samples can also be analyzed through the use of the spectral analysis software which can be installed on personal computers.  

According to Samanta²⁸ the NASA, research shows that “Ultrasonic monitoring of bearings provides the earliest warning of bearing failure. They noted that an increase in amplitude of a monitored ultrasonic frequency of 12 decibels over baseline would indicate the initial (incipient) stages of bearing failure. This change is detected long before it is indicated by changes in vibration or temperature.” This shows that the UCM can be a perfect method which can be used to detect the functionality of the mechanical parts in the industries. In addition, in the mechanical inspection, the other key applications include the control and inspection on the pumps cavitation, compressor valve leakages, faulty gears, poor connections among other applications. Moreover, using the UCM, alarms can be created in order to enhance the creation of the work orders for the equipment correction measures when defaults are likely to occur. Shaw  et al²⁹ indicates that in any case when the changes in the mechanical equipment exceeds the alarm baseline levels, spectral analysis is therefore employed to analyze the sound samples for the accurate diagnosis. Through the analysis, the faults in gears and bearings are then determined and the proper action of repair before the damage occurs is done. In the use of this technology, it is mostly recommended that the baseline readings are taken and stored as decibels level and together with the recorded sound samples. This helps in the time of analysis to help to come with accurate information on where the sound originates the intensity of the sound and the action required in the particular sections. In addition, the baseline sounds are essential in the determination of whether there are any changes have happened on the equipment or not and therefore is any corrective measures is required.

Conclusion 

Condition monitoring is a key process, which has helped different industries in their development. Although there are different techniques in condition monitoring, some have been able to perform better in the industry than others. The ultrasound condition monitoring is one of the method, which has been growing in its usage a lot over the past decades. The quick production of result through UCM method is one of the major advantage, which has led to its growth in different industries. The technology has been able to change in the past in order to be able to meet the different needs in the industry. Moreover, the developments have been able to involve the technological advancement and therefore able to meet the different specific needs which are in the market. Some of the key areas, which the UCM has been involved in solving different problems, include the leak detection, electric transmission and mechanical inspections.

References

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3. BS ISO 13372: “Condition monitoring and diagnostics of machines. Vocabulary” (2012)
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